


can't get to you

by copperwings



Series: Drabble challenge prompts [7]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 18:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13440456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperwings/pseuds/copperwings
Summary: For the first months of their budding relationship, Otabek refuses to sleep in the same bed with Yuri. When he finally does, Yuri understands why.





	can't get to you

**Author's Note:**

> I posted a drabble challenge list on tumblr, I'm posting the prompts I got here as well.  
> The original ficlet is [here](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/post/169966999129/2-hey-hey-calm-down-they-cant-hurt-you). The prompt was Otayuri with “Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

Otabek is always so calm and stoic on the outside that it’s basically his trademark. People know him to be expressionless, always serene and unaffected by anything that happens around him.

Which is why it comes as a surprise to Yuri that Otabek’s calm exterior hides something so vulnerable.

It is months into the _thing_ they haven’t quite labeled as a _‘relationship’_ for Otabek to agree to sleep in the same bed with Yuri. Yuri’s asked him to stay over multiple times and finally just accepted that Otabek likes his privacy when he sleeps. So he stops asking, until Otabek one day scratches the back of his neck and asks if he can stay overnight.

Yuri raises his eyebrows, exasperated. “Are you kidding me? Of course you can stay.”

Yuri loves the feeling of falling asleep in someone’s arms. He loves having something warm and solid to cuddle to, like an anchor that keeps him safely tethered to his bed. Otabek is kind of distant that night when they go to bed, but he snuggles against Yuri nonetheless. Yuri decides to ask about it in the morning.

As Yuri startles awake at three AM, he realizes in a rush why Otabek hasn’t agreed to sleepovers before. Yuri flicks the light on the nightstand on and turns to watch Otabek with anxious fascination as he’s sleeping on the other side of the bed.

He’s not in sleeping peacefully, though. His limbs are trembling and his spine arching off the bed.

It looks like a nightmare, even though Yuri has never really seen anyone having a nightmare before. Otabek starts tossing and turning under the covers, thrashing around and mumbling incoherently in his sleep. There are no actual words coming out of his mouth, but the noises he makes sound distressed.

Yuri doesn’t know how to deal with it. He’s read somewhere that you shouldn’t wake up a sleepwalker because they might startle and injure themselves or have a heart attack or whatnot, but this isn’t sleepwalking. This is something else entirely.

Otabek’s brow is furrowed and there is a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. His shirt is plastered to his skin as his muscles quiver, his body tangled in the blankets.

Yuri reaches out, cautiously, and touches Otabek’s shoulder. He’s prepared to jump back at any second, which is good because Otabek jerks and swings his arm at Yuri.

Yuri scrambles back on the bed so he’s out of reach. “Otabek?”

The thrashing and mumbling continues.

He tries again, louder. “ _Otabek_.”

“Huh?” Otabek stills, eyes blinking rapidly. Otabek’s chest is moving irregularly, breaths tearing in and out of his body. His eyes gaze into nothingness for a moment and then turn, focusing on Yuri where he is kneeling at the foot of the bed.

“You were having a nightmare,” Yuri says.

“Oh. Shit.” Otabek looks away. “I’m sorry.”

Yuri looks at him incredulously. “You’re apologizing for having a bad dream?”

Otabek sits up and peels off the mess of blankets. His shorts and t-shirt are clinging to his skin. “A bit more than just a regular old bad dream,” Otabek mumbles. He gets up and pads into the bathroom. When he reemerges, he’s changed into dry clothes.

Yuri wrinkles his brow at the change of clothing. Otabek brought another set of sleepwear with him. That must mean he expected something like this to happen.

“Do you have nightmares often?” Yuri asks when Otabek sits stiffly down on the edge of the bed.

Otabek lets out a bitter chuckle. “If I’m lucky I can get three nights of uninterrupted sleep in a week.”

Yuri blinks. “Oh. Um. I’m sorry.” He fidgets with the edge of the blanket. “What are the dreams about?”

“It changes. Sometimes it’s finding my sister dead. Sometimes I’m drowning in murky water and can’t find the surface. That kind of stuff. But there’s always someone who’s behind it. Some entity that’s doing it all, killing my sister, tossing me in the water. It’s frustrating.” Otabek doesn’t sound frustrated, though. He sounds resigned.

“Oh.” Yuri lets go of the blanket. “That sucks.”

“Yeah, well it’s been like this pretty much always. I’ve seen sleep therapists, psychiatrists, the whole bunch. Nothing seems to help,” Otabek mutters. He’s not looking at Yuri. “I guess now you know why I didn’t want to sleep over.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like,” Yuri begins and then pauses. “I don’t care. I just want to know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Otabek shrugs.

They go back to sleep. Otabek falls asleep pretty soon, but Yuri stays awake until the sky illuminates in a pale glow, listening to every small shift and movement from the other side of the bed.

-

Otabek avoids staying with Yuri for a few more days, but Yuri is persistent. He keeps inviting Otabek to sleep over, until Otabek agrees.

“Are you sure you want to deal with it?” Otabek says.

“Yes,” Yuri assures. He’s willing to deal with a shit-ton of nightmares if it means he gets to fall asleep and wake up next to Otabek. “I mean, we’re in this together, right? You and me?”

Otabek stares at him for a moment, then his expression melts into a smile. “Yeah,” he breathes. “I guess we are. You and me.” It’s the first time they have talked about _them_ as an entity, and the thought makes Yuri smile.

“So, how can I help?” Yuri asks, when they’re getting ready for bed.

“I suggest you back off when it happens,” Otabek says in a resigned tone. “Otherwise I might end up smacking you in the face, and that’s the last thing I want to happen.”

The night is calm, though. Yuri is almost surprised when they wake up the following morning and there hasn’t been an episode in the middle of the night.

“Don’t get too used to it,” Otabek warns. “They will come back. They always do.”

Otabek talks about his nightmares like they’re real people who are out to get him.

-

The next few times it happens, Yuri wakes Otabek up by calling his name, staying a short distance away until Otabek blinks, disoriented. It usually takes a while for things to calm down, and Yuri feels so helpless, watching Otabek face enemies Yuri can’t help him battle.

Otabek tries to keep it his problem, always insisting on Yuri going back to sleep even while his muscles are still trembling in the wake of a nightmare. He always seems reclusive after an episode, and it takes Yuri a while to realize it’s because he doesn’t want Yuri to get involved in the process.

Yuri understands in a sudden pang of gut-wrenching sadness, that Otabek tries to deal with it by himself, in case Yuri goes away.

The thing is, Yuri is not planning on going anywhere, so he starts to move in to hug Otabek as soon as he’s awake. Otabek resists the closeness at first, getting up and going to the bathroom, but Yuri is nothing if not persistent.

So when it happens once again, Yuri is prepared. In the short span of time when Otabek has stopped tossing but hasn’t quite registered he’s awake, Yuri slides close and hugs Otabek to his chest. Otabek is still disoriented enough so he doesn’t pull away from the touch.

“Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t hurt you anymore. I’m here,” Yuri mutters, stroking his fingers through Otabek’s hair. “I’m here, they can’t get to you.”

Otabek blinks as if through a haze, then makes a content noise and relaxes into the touch. His body stops trembling and slumps down, and a moment later Yuri realizes he’s fallen back to sleep with his head resting on Yuri’s chest.

Yuri spends the rest of the night cradling Otabek in his arms, listening to his even breathing. In the dim light of the bedroom, he watches Otabek’s features, relaxed in calm sleep. He hopes some day Otabek will tell him if there is a cause, a reason behind the nightmares. Perhaps he can help.

Yuri doubts he can completely relieve Otabek from his nightmares, but maybe he can ease Otabek’s pain a bit. One night at a time. Every night if he has to.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr.](https://worldofcopperwings.tumblr.com/)


End file.
